Cuba’s collapsing revolution
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 30 May 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kate Adie introduces stories on Cuba's economic crisis as it feels the strain of the US fuel blockade, Lebanon's shattered ceasefire, the fevered debate over Australia's social media ban, plus dispatches from Greece and Iceland.
Cuba is struggling to cope with the the US government's near-total fuel blockade and the Trump administration increased the pressure on the ruling Communist Party when it issued an indictment against Raul Castro this week. Will Grant has been gauging the mood in Havana.
In southern Lebanon, Israel has stepped up its offensive on Hezbollah with daily strikes, which have killed dozens of civilians. This follows drone attacks launched by the Iran-backed group on communities in northern Israel. John Sudworth reports on the ongoing conflict.
Six months on from Australia's introduction of a social media ban for under 16s, governments around the world are eagerly looking on as they consider rolling out similar policies… but is it working? Katy Watson has been following the debate in Sydney.
In Greece, indignation over new labour laws introduced last October continue to simmer as the summer heat takes hold. The new law, which permits 13-hour working days was met with fierce opposition and nationwide strikes. Heidi Fuller Love heard some full-throated views on the subject in a local taverna
And finally, when a correspondent is on deployment, they often have to navigate sudden changes of plan. Sandra Kanthal found herself diverted by bad weather from an assignment reporting on Iceland’s arctic defences… and founded herself in an unusual museum.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, today we're in Lebanon, where locals are struggling to imagine a future free of conflict. |
| 0:12.7 | In Australia, we hear how teenagers are finding ways to sidestep the social media ban. |
| 0:19.0 | In a Greek tavernor, angry workers vent over the government's new |
| 0:23.1 | labour laws and the introduction of a 13-hour day. And in Iceland, some inclement weather |
| 0:30.0 | leads our correspondent to discover an unusual museum in Reykjavik. But first to Cuba, which is struggling to cope with America's near total |
| 0:40.5 | fuel blockade, which has affected almost every facet of daily life on the island. The Trump |
| 0:46.7 | administration has made no secret of its desire to remove the ruling Cuban Communist Party |
| 0:52.5 | from power. And on May the 20th, Cuban Independence Day, |
| 0:57.4 | Washington increased the pressure when it issued an indictment against Raul Castro, brother of |
| 1:02.9 | former leader Fidel Castro. He stands accused of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and other crimes |
| 1:09.9 | over the 1996 downing of two planes. |
| 1:14.0 | Allegations Cuba's president said were devoid of any legal foundation. |
| 1:19.0 | Will Grant has been in the capital, Havana. |
| 1:22.3 | Anna Rosa Romero can watch baseball matches from her balcony. |
| 1:26.2 | From her apartment on the 11th floor of the 12-story |
| 1:29.0 | Grand Mados building, a stark modernist housing block in the Cerro neighborhood of Havana, |
| 1:34.7 | she enjoys stunning vistas across the city. Her elevated vantage point lets her see right into |
| 1:40.2 | the Estadio Latin Americano, Cuba's national baseball stadium next door. |
| 1:45.5 | A decade ago, she witnessed history unfold on that baseball field. |
| 1:49.5 | President Barack Obama watched a game there with then-Cuban President Raul Castro |
| 1:53.6 | in the last act of his remarkable trip to the island in 2016. |
| 1:58.3 | The optics between the two men, indeed between the two nations, all smiles and warm |
... |
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